The entry procedure for the Ballycotton Run is up. Of course the easy part is applying for an entry form...

Why do sock manufacturers sell packets of socks where there is only a slight difference in colour between the pairs? It wrecks my head. I don't really want to be straining my eyesight trying to establish if one sock matches the colour of another sock. Is it cheaper for manufacturers to dilute the dye between batches? Which is worse completely mismatching socks or slightly mismatching socks?

Of course the real question is why the hell I bought them in the first place?

Ok, I am confused (easily done says some of you). Am I just missing something? I wrote recently about the new hurling structure, as described by the GAA and as described on WikiPedia. According to these links there are twelve teams eligible for the championship: Dublin, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Wexford, Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford, Galway and Antrim.

How does the revised Leinster format fit into the new all Ireland structure? According to the revised format, "Westmeath, Dublin, Offaly and Laois will now vie for a place in the semi-finals against the two traditional powerhouses". Am I missing something, Westmeath are not listed as being eligible for the all Ireland series so how are they eligible for the Leinster series? And if there are two games in the first round, who plays the winner of Antrim versus Galway? What gives?Help me please!!!

The GAA have done it again, they have reorganised the structure of the hurling championship for 2008. It is much more complicated now. There are 12 teams selected for the championship, five in Munster, five in Leinster, and Galway and Antrim. There is also the possibility of a team being promoted from and relegated to the Christie Ring cup, which leads to a possible flaw in the system.

The Munster and Leinster championships remain knockout competitions. These two championships will have the same structure: a first round match, followed by semi-finals and then the final. I presume a draw will take place to decide which three teams go straight into semi-finals and which two teams have to play for last semi-final spot.

Again, there is a second chance for all teams, except for the winners of the Munster and Leinster championships, and except for Antrim and Galway. The bonus for the championship winners is that they go straight into the all Ireland semi-finals. The structure for the second chance is complicated with a number of play-offs between losing teams and also the introduction of relegation for a team.

This is where there is a flaw in the structure. The structure does not cater for the case where a Leinster or Munster team gets relegated and a team from outside Munster and Leinster get promoted. I know this is unlikely, but Murphy’s Law often surprises us.

Here is an example of the new structure in action.

Munster Championship

1. First Round:Tipperary vs. Clare

2. Semi Finals:Tipp vs. Waterford, Limerick vs. Cork

3. Final:Tipp vs. Cork

Leinster Championship

1. First round:Laois vs. Dublin

2. Semi Finals:Laois vs. Wexford, Kilkenny vs. Offaly

3. Final:Wexford vs. Kilkenny

The first round of the all-Ireland series consists of a game between Galway and Antrim, presumably because of the lack of hurling teams in their provinces.

1. Galway vs. AntrimThe winners of this game play the losers of the Leinster first round game and the losers play the losers of the Munster first round game.

2. Galway vs. Dublin, Antrim vs. Clare

The losers of the provincial semi-finals play off against the losers in the other province. I presume a draw decides who plays whom.

3. Waterford vs. Laois, Limerick vs. Offaly

The winners of games in 2 will play against winners of games in 3. Again I presume a draw decides who plays whom.

4. Galway vs. Waterford, Limerick vs. Clare.

The winners of these games play against losers of the provincial finals. This round is the all Ireland quarterfinals.

5. Galway vs. Wexford, Limerick vs. Cork.

The winners go into the all Ireland semi finals play against the provincial winners.

6. Galway vs. Tipp, Limerick vs. Kilkenny.

The winners go into the final.

The next thing to be decided is the team that goes into the relegation playoff.

The losers of the games in 2 play against each other, with the loser of that game going into the relegation playoff.